Smiley Sharing: Driver Round Up #2

Here at Smiley Sharing we share the lighter side of (Uber) rideshare and life in and around and beyond St. Louis through a daily journal of ride-a-long adventures of our mascot Smiley and his driver Michael. In our daily ride-a-longs, tips for riders and drivers are scattered throughout the post. Here at the Driver Round up, we gather all the tips, tricks, and answers, as applied to an Uber Driver in St. Louis, in one post a week. May this help those of you out there who are new, or even veterans to Uber St. Louis save and make more money.

Smiley Ridesharing: Pretrip Mental Checks and 5 Star Service (PMCS)

Reflecting on yesterday Michael is reminded of Stephen Covey’s words from Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Stephen Covey says that so many of history’s greatest achievements were made by one determined individual’s will, but even greater than those individuals were those that tap the unmatched potential of the “we.” Yesterday really reflected the “we,” whether it be fellow rideshare drivers, passengers, or community college students, becoming that community, strengthening and empowering others is really what drives us for peace and balance.

Smiley Sharing Driver Round Up: 5 Star Tips

Smiley Rideshare Driver: Dash Camera For Driver Safety

This is the second part of our 12-hour extravaganza. Michael did four hours in the morning, then took a break during the lunchtime lull. Michael just got to talk with his mom, and she thought that the Uber and lift dash cam from Falcon 360 (Read Review Here: Smiley Reviews Falcon F-360) was a great present to give him for his upcoming birthday. I know Michael’s looking forward to it; he does his best to drive safely on the road and to provide five-star service, but accidents do happen, and the best eyewitness is a camera. So for all those drivers, especially in the metroplex, see the link attached below for the Falcon 360 HD, recommended nationwide for rideshare drivers.

Smiley Sharing Uber St. Louis Ride-a-longs: Driver Vehicle

Speaking of recommendations, (Read More Recommendation here: Smiley Recommends) there are a lot of drivers who have been asking for recommendations on a car/dashboard mount for your phone. Michael found a really good one that he likes. It takes up very little real estate, and it holds his phone exactly where he wants to hold it. It’s a great deal, so we’ve shared the link here.

Smiley Driver Mental Health and Wellness

Smiley Driver Mental Health and Wellness: Law of Large Numbers

Something Michael would like to share with you folks who are looking to become rideshare drivers is to remember the law of large numbers; that means that things will equal out. Some days you’ll have a few small trips and a little bit of money; other days, you’re going to have really nice long trips that will you make a lot of money over time. With large numbers, everything will equal out—just be patient and be positive! Eventually, you will know when to take a break and when to get back to work.

For those of you out there trying to chase down times and places where there’s peak demand (aka, “surge”), you’re spending a lot more energy than it’s worth. Michael has had much better success when he and Rebecca look at the patterns of demand and create strategies to maximize success each shift.

One of the things that I’ve noticed is a lot of negativity. It seems like a lot of people stay focused on the negative, letting it blind them to opportunities to improve their situations. Do you approach things in your life looking for the negative, expecting the worst, jumping to the conclusions, believing that everyone is out to cheat you? Do you believe that the deck is stacked against you no matter what you do? If so, how is that working out for you?

I know it didn’t work for Michael. Michael has always had a natural affinity for sales, but he didn’t have the positive attitude he has now. At one point in his career, he blamed everyone and everything for the problems he was having in his life. If he couldn’t make a sale, he blamed the customer for not being smart enough to see that Michael was offering the best products. After some time, Michael came to realize that the criticism, blame, anger, and negative attitude he was showing was a reflection about how he was feeling about himself. He discovered that he was projecting his feelings of low self-worth onto others, and it was impairing his ability to be a productive worker and a content, confident, positive person.

Smiley Driver Mental Health and Wellness: Personal Inventory

If you have a moment, take an inventory: Are you really as bad as you think you are? Do you feel as though you are not worthy of success? Can you smile at yourself? Is there anything in your life worth being happy about?

It may feel like the answers are “Yes, yes, no, and no,” but that’s not true! You are valuable, you are worthy of success, and there is always something worth being happy about, even if it isn’t always easy to find at first.

If you have the courage to change the way you feel about yourself, you’ll find the world around you changing. You’ll notice more of the positive things in your life, and you will be able to discover ways to overcome the negative things that come up in your life.

Smiley Driver: Save More Money, Make Money!

On another subject, for all those out there who are making a living being rideshare drivers, it is highly recommended that you use the app Waze. Even if you’re not a rideshare driver, Waze will get you around traffic snags because it’s live updated. It’ll also share with you the speed limit in whatever unknown part of the town you’re in, as well as any known speed traps in the area.

Michael and I have observed people who are territorial about their work, be it ridesharing, sales, or anything in-between. Michael doesn’t understand that mindset at all!

Smiley Driver: L.U.C.K.

Michael shared with me what he believes about luck. To Michael, luck is very much real but L U C K to Michael means “Laboring Under Correct Knowledge.” I wish all you riders, drivers, and fellow travelers good L.U.C.K.

Smiley Driver: Even MORE Money!

Smiley Driver: Driver Networking

As a matter of fact, we had an encounter with a fellow Uber Driver at our favorite QT. She’s been working for a local hospital for almost 20 years, and she drives Uber now for the last nine weeks just to earn a little bit more income. Michael shared with her everything that has he has found helpful in his efforts to always provide five-star service and keep his riders satisfied. Why? Michael believes that all boats rise on the tide, so by helping others, Michael is helping himself. Michael and I are looking to sow positivity so that we can reap the rewards, be they monetary or just the satisfaction of helping others and providing great service in general.

Smiley Driver: New Driver Referrals

It is always a privilege and a pleasure when I see Michael pick up a passenger that not only a passenger but also a driver. We had a nice long trip and a nice long talk with the passenger, who is a new St. Louis Uber rideshare driver. We gave him an opportunity to make himself an extra hundred dollars by using Michael’s Uber referral code.

If you have signed up as a rideshare driver recently and you didn’t use a referral code, go over to Smiley Supporting,or click on the appropriate (Uber / Lyft / Juno) link, and you will get your sign-up bonus (check to verify that the code is still valid).